Ornament



June 29, 1937. R. c. STEEPLE ORNAMENT Filed Oct. 21, 1955 INVENTOR. PEG/NHLD C. .STEEPLE. By J a I175 ATTORNEY.

Patented June 29, 1937 ET I STATES ATEN FFIQE 5 Claims.

My invention relates to ornaments, and more particularly to an ornament for Christmas tree decoration.

It is among the objects of my invention to provide an ornament having a plurality of light reflecting surfaces so colored and arranged that light is caught and reflected back and forth between the surfaces to produce a dazzling effect; and it is a further object of my invention to provide a mounting for the ornament whereby slight air currents cause the colored lights to play and dance across the shivering reflecting surfaces.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of my invention. It is tobe understood that'I do not limit myself to this disclosure of species of my invention, as I may adopt variant embodiments thereof within the scope of the claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure l is a front view of the ornament embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a side view, partly in section and partly in elevation, showing the preferred form of mounting; and

Figure3 is a similar view showing a modified form of mounting.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken in a plane indicated by the line 44 of Figure 1, showing the angularly disposed reflecting surfaces.

In terms of broad inclusion, the Christmas tree ornament embodying my invention comprises a decorative head embodying light reflecting surfaces, and also comprises means for mounting the head on a limb of a Christmas tree, whereby the reflecting surfaces are moved under the influence of air currents. The decorative head comprises a back piece having a plurality of angularly disposed reflecting surfaces, and preferably also a smaller face piece lying in front of the back piece and having a plurality of light reflecting surfaces angularly disposed relative to the surfaces of the back piece. Preferably the pieces are star-shaped, and one reflecting surface is colored differently from that of another. By this arrangement and design, the ornament gives a striking display when exposed to light.

In greater detail, and referring particularly to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing, the Christmas tree ornament embodying my invention comprises a decorative head including a back piece 2 and a face piece 3. These two pieces are preferably star-shaped, and may be made of any (Cl. ll-) suitable material, preferably a bright surfaced metal sheet. Nickel or chromium plated sheet metal of a very light gauge has given excellent results, but any other material suitable for the purpose and economically available may be used. As shown in Figure 1, the star-shaped pieces are so positioned that the points of the stars are in alignment; and the face piece 3 is made smaller than the back piece 2, so that the points of the rear star piece project beyond those of the front star piece.

In order to provide angularly disposed reflecting surfaces, the back piece 2 is bent in zig-zag formation about the lines 4 and B which extend radially from the center to the points and re entrant portions of the star. This bending is such that the light reflecting surfaces 1 slope forwardly from the point lines 4 and rearwardly from the reentrant lines 6. This single piece may be used alone or it may be combined with a front star piece 3 which is also bent in zig-zag formation about its radial lines 8 and 9. In this case, the light reflecting surfaces H slope rearwardly from the point lines 8 and forwardly from the reentrant lines 9, which is just reverse to the sloping of the reflecting surfaces in the back piece. As a result, the two pieces are reversely cupped, and the front star lies within the rear star with its points lying between the ang'ularly disposed surfaces of the rear star.

The reflecting surfaces on each of the starshaped pieces are triangularly-shaped plane figures, and each provides a mirror surface in which portions of an adjacent figure is reflected. This gives a remarkable display, especially under conditions of artificial lighting, such as found on the Christmas tree, since the light is caught and reflected back and forth between the mirror surfaces to produce a dazzling effect.

In order to still further enhance the beauty of the ornament, the reflecting surfaces are preferably differently colored. For example, I have secured good results by leaving the surfaces H of the face piece bright and shiny, such as afforded by the plain tin surfaces, and coating the surfaces 1 of the back piece with a brightly colored coating, such as blue lacquer. Of course any other color combination may be employed, and, if desired, the reflecting surfaces in the same star may be differently colored. When such an ornament is exposed to the light, and then given a shivering movement, the ornament becomes brilliant and is characterized by many colored lights moving across the reflecting surfaces.

Movement of the ornament to enhance the light effects is assured by so mounting the ornament that it is sensitive to normal air currents circulating about in a room. The preferred mounting for the ornament simply comprises a pair of wires twisted together to provide an upright arm l2 arranged behind the head, and having one of its wires l3 extending through the center of both head pieces to provide a spindle for holding the latter together. A loop I4 is formed at the front end of the wire, and a colored glass bead IE is preferably interposed between the face piece 3 and loop M to give a finishing touch. The end i! of the other wire also projects through the back piece, and lies against the inner surface of the latter between its inclined surfaces to assist in holding the head upright.

The lower ends of the wire are spaced to provide a hook or holder l8 for straddling a limb of the tree. In order to counterbalance the head, and to add still further to the appearance of the ornament, a pendant l9, preferably of colored glass, is suspended from a loop formed in one of the wires below the holder. This pendant holds the ornament upright, but allows any slight air current to cause a shivering movement of the light reflecting head. For the sake of beauty, the color scheme ispreferably maintained uni- ;form. For example, if the back piece 2 of the decorative head is blue, the bead l8 and pendant l9 are also pr ferably blue. It is understood however that any other color combination may be used.

Figure 3 shows another type of mounting. In

this case, the head is suspended by a hook 2i secured to a projecting point of the back star piece 2. The pieces 2 and 3 of the head are fastened together by a wire 22 passing through the center of the pieces and having a loop 23 formed at each end. By this suspension the ornament is also subject to movement by air currents, and

the dazzling efiect due to moving light reflections is attained.

I claim:

1. An ornament comprising a star-shaped back piece having angularly disposed light reflecting surfaces sloping forwardly from radial lines passing through the points of the star, and a starshaped face piece lying in front of the back piece and having angularly disposed light reflecting surfaces sloping rearwardly from radial lines passing through its points.

2. An ornament comprising a star-shaped back piece having angularly disposed light reflecting surfaces sloping forwardly from radial lines passing through the points of the star, a star-shaped face piece lying in front of the back piece and having angularly disposed light-reflecting surfaces sloping rearwardly from radial lines passing through its points, and means for supporting the ornament. I

3. An ornament comprising a star-shaped back piece having angularly disposed light reflecting surfaces sloping forwardly from radial lines passing through the points of the star, a star-shaped face piece lying in front of the back piece and having angularly disposed light reflecting surfaces sloping rearwardly from radial lines passing through its points, a decorative bead centrally located in front of the face piece, and a spindle passing through the star-shaped pieces and said bead and terminating in means for holding the pieces together.

4. In a tree ornament, a decorative head comprising front and back pieces having angularly disposed light reflecting surfaces, a pair of wires twisted together to provide an arm for supporting the head, the upper end of one of said wires extending through both of the head pieces for fastening the latter together and the upper end of the other wire projecting through the back piece and lying between its angularly disposed surfaces for holding the head upright, and the lower ends of the wires being spread to provide a holder for straddling a limb of the tree, and. a pendant hanging from one of said wires for counterbalancing the head. I

5. An ornament comprising a back piece having forwardly extending light-reflecting surfaces, and a front piece having rearwardly extending light-reflecting surfaces, the edges of the front piece terminating against the surfaces of the rear piece at points spaced inwardly from the edges of the latter.

REGINALD C. S'I'EEPLE. 

